Capote, William

Mayor Capote was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba in July 1962. He attended school there until the 3rd grade. The Capote family, including William and two other siblings left Cuba in October 1970 during the famed “Freedom Flights” that brought more than 245,000 Cuban refugees to the United States. The family first arrived in Miami, but after a week, migrated to Hoboken, New Jersey where Capote’s parents still reside.

Mayor Capote holds an associate degree in business administration, a bachelor’s degree in organizational management and a Master of Science in management. Mayor Capote is a military veteran of the New Jersey Army National Guard where he served from 1985 to 1993 achieving the rank of sergeant. He and his family moved to Palm Bay in 1994 and he was first elected to the Palm Bay City Council in November 2008.

During his current term as mayor, Capote says he wants to focus on strengthening the city’s economic development through new business-friendly policies, strategic planning, promoting the city as a destination, and tapping into the cultural diversity that he believes is a strong and vibrant market. “We have so much unrealized potential and so many things to attract new people and business to this area,” Capote said. “We should be embracing cultural events and creating new partnerships and showcasing the great city that we are.”